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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

G. C. BLIGKENSDERFBR 81; H. SMITH CONVEYER APPARATUS.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets- Sheet 2,

G. C. BLIOKENSDERFER & H. SMITH. GONVBYER APPARATUS.

N0. 298,276. Patented May 6, 1884.

i NiTnD STATES ATTTNT rrrcn.,

GEORGE C. BLICKENSDERFER AND I-IERVEY SMITH, OF ERIE, PA.

CONVEYER APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.`298,276, dated May 6,1884.

A pplication filed March 22, 1884.

To' lf/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE C. BLIcKENs- DERFER and HERVEY SMITH,citizens of the United States, residing at Erie, in the county of Erieand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Gonveyer Apparatus, and we do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

rlhis invention relates to that class oi' conveyers wherein the trackconsists o f a single taut wire, or of bars sustained by brackets; and

the car consists of one or more flanged wheels and means for suspendingthe load below the track.

The invention consists in providing such a conveyer apparatus with anautomatic switch which is set to receive the car, and after the car isreceived is unset or thrown back by the movement of the car itself.

We are aware that automatic switches have been used onsurface railroadshaving two lines of track, but are not aware that tliey have ever beenused in conveyers of the 'class above named.

In four patents issued to us March 1S, 1884, we have shown various formsof automatic switches for conveyers of this class; but they are allfixed or non-moving switches, and the cars are provided with a separateset of wheels for use on the switches.` In this application we show sucha conveyer with a car having only a single running-gear, which runs onboth the mainline and the switches, and the switchpoints are movable,and are thrown into and out of connection with the main line by themovement of the car. IV e show our invention applied to tracks' formedof taut wire and of bars, and we show two optional construe tions, bothof which, while dissimilar in the details of construction, aresubstantially alike in general features, and each embodies the essentialprinciples of our invention.

Our invention appears in the accompanying drawings, as follows:

Figure l is a perspective view of a receiving-station on aconveyer-line. Fig. is a similar View showing an alternativeconstruction.

In each figure the track is shown by full (No model.)

lines to be of taut wire, and by dash and dot lines to be of bars. Thedifference in the two vconstructions is as follows: In Fig. l a sectionof the main line is made movable, and the point of the switch takes itsplace when the switch is set to receive a car. In Fig. 2 the main trackremains intact, and the point of the switch, when in position to receivethe car, lies upon themain track, and, being inclined, lifts thecar-wheels up, so their flanges will pass over the main track.l

The various parts are indicated by letters of reference, as follows: 1

A is the main track.

B is the switch or branch track.

B and BL7 are the swinging switch-points.

A A is the swinging section of the main track.

A2 is an iron which deilects the wire forming the main line, and forms aseat for the swinging section A.

C C C2 C CL is the gearing by which the switch is moved before the carreaches the switch.

E E E2 is the gearing by which the car moves the switch after it hasreceived the car.

E E E are hangers which support the main and branch tracks.

is a frame-work which supports an arcshaped track, D.

D d cl is a car mounted on said arc-track, and carries hangers D2 D,which support the movable sections A and B, or in Fig. 2 the movablesection B2. The car or slide D d d is moved by the gearing C C', &c., orF E', 85C.,- as the case may be. The car is shown in Fig. l by dottedlines.

The position of parts in both iigures is that which they assume when theswitch is set to receive a car-that is to say, the position they arethrown into by the car as it passes the lever C, in which position thccar is shown by dotted lines.

The levers G at different stations are of different lengths, and a pinon the side of the car-standard is placed in proper position to hit theend of the lever G only at the station to which that caris destined, andto pass all other such levers on the line without hitting them. Thelevers F, which the car hits to close the switch behind it-that is, tomove theswitch out'of connection with the main track-may all IOO be ofthe same length, and are set so as to be struck by the upright of thecar-frame.

When the tracks are made of bars, as indicated by dash and dotted lines,the casting or deflecting seat-iron A2 is not used, the bar beingnotched to receive the swinging section A. The iron A2 is only wantedwhen the track is of taut wire and such a switch as is shown in Fig. Iis used. It is not wanted for such a vswitch as is shown in Fig. 2 whenthe track is a taut wire. Its chief office is to deflect the wire, so asto formanotch or offset to receive the swinging section A and to form aseat for that section.

The switch-point or swinging section B2 in Fig. 2, when in position, asshown, to receive the car, lies directly upon the main line and gradesup from its point high enough to raise the wheel-flanges above the mainline before it curves oft to one side, so that the car will have to runup a slight incline, and will then run off on the switch and itswheel-anges will clear the main line.

The operation is as follows: Before the car passes the lever C theswitch-point is off from the main line'and the main line is open for thefree passage of ears that are set to not hit the lever C. Vhen the carhits the lever G, it moves it forward and the rod C turns the bellcrankG2 G3 C4, and the pin d on the car or slide D being in the slot c on thearm C, the car is moved back, and this, by reason of its connection withthe switches through the hangers D2 D3, carries the said switches intothe position in which they are shown, which is such as to cause thecar-to run off on the switch. As the car passes the lever F it moves it,and as the parts F F F2 form a bellcrank with the arm F2, connected withthe movable switch-point, this movement will throw the switches and thecar D, and also the gearing G, 85e., back into the position theyoccupied before the car carne in cont-act with the lever G. It will thusbe seen that the whole movement of the switchiis automatically effectedby the movement of the car.

l. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe following elements: an elevated track, a swingingswitch track, apendent car, and gearing for swinging said switch, which is actuated bycoming in contact with the said car as it passes, substantially asshown.

2. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe following elements: an elevatedv track, a swingingswitch track, theare-track D', the slide or car D, a hanger connecting said slide or carwith the swinging switch, gearing, substantially as shown, for movingsaid slide from the levers C and F, and a pendent car having means,substantially as shown, for moving said levers C and F as it passesthem.

3. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe following elements: an elevated track with an offset or notch and aswinging section in said notch, a swinging-switch track, an arc-track, asliding hanger mounted on said arc-track, and supporting saidswinging-switch and main-track section, gearing, substantially as shown,for moving said sliding hanger from the levers C and F, and a pendentcar with means, substantially as shown, for moving said levers C and Fas it passes them.

4. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe following elements: an elevated main track, a pendent car, and aswinging switch which is actuated from the movement of the car.

5. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe following elements: an elevated main track, a pendent car, and aswinging switch and swing section of main track which are actuated fromthe movement of the car.

6. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination ofthe vfollowing elements: an elevated main track having a swingingsection, a swinging switch lying opposite said swing track section, andmeans, substantially as shown, for moving said two swing partssimultaneously from the action of the passing car.

7. In a conveyer apparatus substantially as shown, the combination, witha taut-Wire main track, of the delecting-iron A2, the swinging-tracksection A', and the swinging switch B.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

GEORGE C. BLICKENSDERFER. HERVEY SMITH.

-Witnesses:

JNO. K. HALLocK, ROBERT H. PORTER.

IOO

